Discovery
by MaK1
Summary: *The final chapter added* A mysterious spaceship crash lands in Smallville, prompting the gang to investigate, leading Clark to discover the unbelievable truth as to why the ship is really there.
1. Chapter 1

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Chapter 1: The Discovery

Clark stood at the edge of the cornfield, watching the world pass him by. It was early evening, and as he stared at the stars above he wondered just what life had in store for him. It had been two days since he had made the discovery, and from that moment on his life had been irrevocably changed. For the better, or for worse was the question that preyed on his mind. He would never have imagined things would turn out the way they had, but he knew now it would be a turning point in his life. He softly sighed, his mind wandering back to the events that had already transpired…  
  
_Sunday_

  
Chloe turned, searching the woods for her fellow explorers. It was a bright, sunny morning, perfect for a trip through Smallville's infamous woods. It wasn't entirely a fun outing though, she had been told of something amazing in the woods, and had convinced the rest of her friends to go with her. No doubt it was all some practical joke, but Chloe couldn't resist the challenge  
  
"Guys, do you see anything?" She shouted, hoping the others could hear her, "I don't," She muttered  
  
Lana ambled up by her side, scanning the undergrowth as they passed it  
  
"Are you sure the guy that told you about this just didn't want you in the woods alone Chloe?"  
  
The teenager pondered the question. It certainly was a possibility and she knew it, Rich Tyler had had a crush on her for a long time now, but he had appeared so sincere when had told her about his sighting that she felt she needed to give him the benefit of the doubt  
  
"You could be right, he's liked me for a long time, but I don't think he would go that far" She peered at her surroundings wondering where the other two members of their group had gotten too, "He seemed so genuine when he told me about this thing, I have to check it out, I mean this is Luthorcorp land, anything could be going on here"  
  
Lana nodded, she may be in partnership with Lex, but she also knew what kind of nefarious dealings he could be capable of if he thought there was any financial gain to be had  
  
"Maybe we should try over there? It looks like someone's made a clearing"  
  
Chloe glanced over to where her friend was pointing into the distance and had to agree, it definitely looked suspicious, perhaps they were finally getting somewhere.   
  
The dense thicket provided excellent cover for watching the group. He moved as they did, shadowing their every step. He hadn't expected them, at least not yet, he wasn't ready, but it didn't matter. He pulled back a branch and noted the girls were moving towards the clearing. He had anticipated that, the other two were already there, staring at the 'thing'. He laughed to himself as he wondered what they would make of it all; let them guess for a while; it gave him more time for his own purposes. Things weren't happening quite as he'd hoped, but he could still make this work to his own ends if he were patient.  
  
Clark and Pete stood in the clearing, mesmerised by what they had found. Their feet almost touched the waters edge they had tried to get so close to it  
  
"What do you think it is?" Pete queried, dragging his gaze from their discovery to glance at Clark, "It looks like some kind of ship to me, maybe it came down with the meteor shower?"  
  
Clark wasn't convinced. The thing lay just beneath the surface of the water, it was bigger than his own ship, and there was no obvious resemblance. It shimmered a silvery grey, catching the eye of all that glanced its way  
  
"I think someone would have seen this by now Pete, there's no way it's been here all that time without being exposed, besides, if it were meteor related I wouldn't be able to get so close, surely?"  
  
Pete shook his head, he had never seen anything like it, and to him it sure as hell looked alien. He didn't like bringing that word up to Clark though, not since he had found out his friend's secret, because even though he knew Clark came from another world he had come to terms with it now. Clark was Clark no matter where he had originally came from  
  
"So what do you think it is Mr smart guy?" He smiled, getting his friend to theorise about such a weird find had to be fun, "I mean do you think it's a prank to fool Chloe?"  
  
The thought had crossed the young Kent's mind. Chloe always made her wild and wacky ideas known to everyone, maybe they decided to send her on a wild goose chase, but somehow he doubted it. This thing before them was a true Smallville mystery. Tentatively he crouched down and skimmed his hand across the water where the thing was submerged, and instantly he wished he hadn't. He felt his knees buckle beneath him, and he began to fall forward in to the shallow part of the pool. His body was out of control as the meteor rocks effects took hold, and as he hit the water the feelings grew worse and he feared he would pass out. Then mercifully a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him back  
  
"Oh man, I thought you had more sense than try that!" Peter chided him as he hauled his friend to safety, "I guess you were wrong and I was right, this is meteor related"  
  
Clark coughed as Pete set him down a safe distance from the pond, he stared at the water and the strange riddle it held  
  
"Thanks Pete, I guess I didn't think"  
  
He looked up at his friend, grateful he had been there, and that he no longer had to hide his secret from him. Pete guessed what Clark was thinking and winked  
  
"What did you do before you had me to watch your out of this world butt?"  
  
The pair laughed, but then two voices shouting out in unison stopped them  
  
"Clark!"   
  
Both Lana and Chloe ran into the glade having just seen what had transpired, both stared at Clark with fear in their eyes, after having just seen him almost drown for no apparent reason  
  
"Are you all right?" Lana beat Chloe to the question by mere seconds  
  
Pete grinned, if he were in Clark's place he would be feigning illness right now, he loved getting the girls attention, but he knew Clark would never think of such a thing. Clark however had realized his best friend's thoughts and the famous Kent smile appeared right on cue  
  
"I'm fine" He beamed at both girls, "I think I just overbalanced, it must have been the sight of that"  
  
He pointed to the mystery find and all eyes followed. Finally, after an eternal silence Chloe broke the moment.  
  
"What on earth is it…?"

*Author's Note: This is what we were given to have our story start out with. The rest of this story is my work following this chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

"That's what I'd like to know too." Lana said, shortly after Chloe.

Clark and Pete exchanged looks before staring back at the unknown spacecraft. Not too long ago Clark had finally told Pete, his best friend, the big secret. He took it in okay, but not at first, but now that he had Pete in on it he could have someone to help him out when he needed a cover story, and someone to just talk to. 

_He_ was watching them though, watching their progress, and slightly confused on the way the two teenage boys acted once the girls showed up. _Oh well_. He said to himself, _Everything will change for him soon._ He exited the woods and quickly began walking towards the long row of corn fields straight ahead of him, leaving the four bewildered friends behind him.

"What should we do with it?" Lana asked trying to get a closer look.

"I know what I'm going to do," Chloe began, as she pulled out her digital camera and began taking snap shots of the unknown craft. "I can see the headlines now "UFO Lands in Smallville". Great isn't it?" Chloe finished, she was having a field day with this.

"Chloe, I think we should keep this our secret for now, don't you think? We don't want the government coming to Smallville and taking it away, now do we?" Clark said, noticing the slight change in her expression, knowing she changed her mind, as he also stepped further back from the ship.

"I guess you're right." She said simply, placing her camera back into her messenger bag.

Later that day, the three stood in Clark's loft, staring curiously at the spacecraft. Clark on the other hand, waited at the bottom, pretending he was keeping an eye out and making sure no one snuck up and spotted their find. Earlier they managed to carry it to Clark's truck, _excluding Clark, who claimed he hurt his wrist when he fell into the pond,_ the ship was lighter then expected, so Chloe, Lana, and Pete managed to carry it and drive it on over to the loft. _He_ followed them though, _he_ wanted to see where the taller one lived. _He_ knew he was different then the rest of the group, _the same as me_.

__

Monday

Monday was the following day, and the four met up during their free period to discuss what they were going to do with the ship. But before they could start, there was a knock on the Torch door and an unfamiliar face emerged.

"Can I help you?" Chloe asked sounding a little irritated.

"Yeah, my name is Max Johnson, I'm new, and I was told to come here, that you could show me around. You are Chloe Sullivan right?" He asked. His brown hair looked as if he'd just waken up in the morning and forgot to comb his hair. He sounded a little nervous and scared on his first day in a new school. He slowly walked to the four, shy and nervous.

"That's right." She answered.

"Okay good," he breathed a sigh of relief, "then I'm in the right place." He said taking a seat next to Lana. 

"Hi, I'm Max." He said extending his arm.

"Lana Lang." she said smiling, shaking his hand.

Pete and Clark introduced themselves shortly after that, and within the next fifteen minutes, it was like the four had been friends with Max forever. They were laughing, Max was talking about life before Smallville, he could relate to Chloe and Lana in a way. He lost his parents when he was young, and he just moved to Smallville from Chicago, Illinois and was already missing the big city life.

"So Max, what do you miss most about the great city of Chicago?" Chloe asked.

"My friends mostly…and the fact that you couldn't get through the whole city in just five minutes, like here." he said, causing the four to break out in a laugh.

"Yep, that's Smallville for you." she said.

The bell interrupted their conversation and Max immediately stood up from his chair, saying he was already late for his first class. They gave their goodbyes, and Chloe, Pete, Lana, and Clark were finally alone and could discuss the previous days events.

"He's nice." Lana said, still watching the door after Max was already gone. Clark exchanged looks with Chloe, who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Hmm. Anyways. What are we going to do about that ship? I mean, we have to try and figure out where it came from." Chloe said.

"Chloe, I think that much is obvious." Pete replied sarcastically, looking out the window and up into the sky.

"Well duh, smart ass," Chloe said jokingly, "What I _meant_ was _where_ in space did it come from? Did someone escape? Maybe their wandering around Smallville right now." she finished.

__

He made his way through the halls of Smallville High. _They were nicer then I thought_, meaning it was going to be harder for him to do what he had to when the time came. _Well Max, look at the bright side. You're in. It's as simple as that. They don't suspect a thing._ He grinned, and he entered his first class as high school student Max Johnson.

Back in the Torch office, while Chloe and Lana were surfing the net for some clues, Clark and Pete had a chance to talk.

"So what do we do about the ship? It's not like we can tell them it's probably from where you came from, right Clark?" Pete asked as he was looking over at Chloe's updated Wall of Weird.

"I know…but what else can we do about it? They are gonna want to know what happens with the ship too, it's not like there gonna just let it go." Clark said.

"Yeah…" Pete said, completely stumped as to how this situation would be solved.

"By the way, did you see the way she was looking at him, Max I mean. And after he left?" Clark asked, shocked at Pete's cluelessness.

"Who Lana? Sorry man, but I don't watch Lana 24/7 like you do." Pete said, and laughed, patting his best friend on the back. As Clark and Pete joined the Chloe and Lana, Clark noticed a piece of the meteor rock next to the computer.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Clark managed to say.

"Clark, you okay? _It's the meteor rock!"_ Pete said in a low whisper. "_I'll get it out of here."_ He rushed over to the rock and ran out of the room, Clark's strength slowly coming back.

"Meteor rocks? What's that have to do with Clark feeling sick?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Uh…" Pete managed to say when he returned, looking over at Clark for support.

"I know." Lana said.

"You know?" Clark asked, a little nervous.

"I think deep down somewhere I've always known Clark. Ever since the day of the twisters. I was just kind of waiting for you to tell me whenever you felt it was the right time, I didn't want to push the subject. Clark, I know the meteor rocks make you sick, I've known for a while now, that's one of the reasons I agreed to not wear it anymore." She said giving him a sincere smile. Chloe on the other hand, was a little confused. "I just want you to know that you _can_ trust me."

"Wait, what? Clark, why do the meteor rocks hurt you? It's not like you're _alien_ or anything." She said jokingly, but realized that she could be right.

That was it, the moment Clark thought he would never get too. He finally told the truth to Lana and Chloe, both completely understanding about why he could never tell them. They had tons of questions of course, some of which Clark could answer, but some, he just couldn't. For instance about where he came from, why he was here, etc. Now it was the four of them in on the secret, Clark was always hoping they would know, and now they do. And they don't think any less of him.

"I'm glad you told us Clark." Lana said, giving him that smile that always makes him about fall to his knees.

"Me too." Clark said in response.


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Clark sat at his kitchen table when he heard a knock on the door and was surprised to see it was Max.

"Hey Max, come on in." Clark said opening the door for him.

"Thanks. I'm sorry to just show up like this."

"It's fine. So what's up?" Clark asked.

"Nothing really, I've just been sitting at home flipping through channels with nothing on." 

"Sounds like me on a Saturday night when I'm not doing chores." Clark said trying to make a joke.

"Is there anything fun around here to do?" He asked.

"Uh…not really, there is the Talon though, it's a coffee shop. Lana owns it, we could stop by there if you like."

"Sure…hey, do you by any chance know if Lana has a boyfriend?" Max asked.

"As a matter of fact she doesn't…why, you interested?" Clark asked, a little worried.

"Maybe…" Max said, letting himself trail off as they stepped into the truck.

On the way to the Talon, Max was quiet. All he could think about was the mission, and Clark's friends. He had no friends the way Clark does back home, he actually envied Clark a little bit. He couldn't take Clark away from this. 

"You're awfully quiet, is everything okay?" Clark asked.

"Yeah…just miss home that's all." he said, taking off his black leather jacket that he didn't need to wear in this weather.

"It'll get easier, just look at Chloe. When she moved here from Metropolis she was ready to go back. She hated it here, now look at her, if she hadn't moved here she and I would never have become the best friends that we are." he said, Max just nodded, not really needing to hear this. _I'm leaving this place soon anyway. Why does Clark have to be so nice to me? I bet he won't be once he finds out why I'm really here._

The rest of the drive to the Talon was quiet, Clark not knowing what else to say, he figured farm life would bore Max to death. Max took the rest of the time it took to the Talon to think about the mission.

__

"You must go to Earth, find Kal-El, bring him back here. With New Krypton in order, we need all the Generals we can get, otherwise our enemies will overthrow us." Commander L, told X.

"What if he doesn't want to come back, for all we know he could love Earth, he might never want to leave." X said.

"Then you must get him here by any means necessary. And I mean **any**."

"He's going to hate us for it, you know that right." X said, not liking this plan at all.

"He'll be home again, he'll be fine."

New Krypton looked exactly like Old Krypton, only it was farther away, and much closer to Earth. Right before Krypton exploded, many people escaped, retreating to the nearest planet, but not all the people that escaped to New Krypton were good.

"Hey Max, we're here." Clark said as he stepped out of the truck.

"Yeah…" Max said, snapping out of his flashback. He followed Clark into the Talon. The Talon was filled with teenagers, and Lana looked busy as usual.

"Hey Lana, need some help?" Clark asked.

"That would be great Clark, two of the waitresses called in sick, leaving me here by myself." She said rushing to pour coffee to a nearby table.

"I'll help too." Max said, though having no idea what he was supposed to do.

Closing time finally came, and the three were exhausted. Lana poured them drinks before they all threw themselves into a booth.

"That was fun." Max said, being the first to speak after the rush.

"Right…" Lana said closing her eyes as if she was ready to sleep on the spot. "But yeah…thanks again guys for helping me out. I know I could've done it without you." She gave each of them a kiss on the cheek, causing them both to blush.

"Well…we better get home, do you need a ride?" Clark asked Lana as he was standing up.

"No, Nell's picking me up in about ten minutes." She answered, standing up as well.

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Lana." Clark said.

"Bye Clark." She said back.

"Bye Lana." Max said giving her a short wave.

"Bye." She said as they stepped out into the cold, dark night, and she shut the Talon doors.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

Clark pulled up to Max's house, which was completely dark. 

"Hey Clark. I have to talk to you. It's kind of important." Max began.

"Okay.." Clark said.

"This is hard for me to say….and it's kind of random, I know…but…I'm just like you." He said.

"I'm not sure I know what your talking about, Max." Clark said, confused.

"I'm not from this Earth Clark. I…I was sent here to bring you home to New Krypton, to help rule alongside Commander L. Without you our enemies will control New Krypton, and they'll destroy us all. I know this may come to you as a shock, but you have to believe me. You are to be a General, you play an important role in the survival of our planet. You've been wanting to find the answers your whole life haven't you Clark? Well, when you come back with me, all of your questions will be answered."

Clark had no words. In a way, he was kind of happy to finally get some answers. But there was no way he could leave his family and friends behind.

"I…don't know what to say. I can't leave my family and friends, there's just no way. I'm sorry." 

"It's okay Clark, I understand. But you can always come back and visit them if you like."

"I'm sorry Max, but I can't, I won't. Now I'll see you tomorrow." He said opening the door for Max so he could get out of the truck. 

  
"Look, Clark, as much as I agree with you, but _they_ won't be that easy to get away from, they'll do anything to get you back, and I mean _anything_." Max said.

"What…you mean like hurt my family or something?" Clark asked getting angry.

"Like I said, whatever it takes. I'm so sorry Clark, I knew this was going to happen, I told them you wouldn't want to come back with me. They just…I don't know. Look, just think about it okay?" Clark agreed with a nod of his head and drove off into the night.

******

__

What do I do? I have to tell my parents. I'm definitely not leaving them, or my friends. There's just no way. But Max did say I could come back and visit them, maybe I can go back to my real home, see how it is, and then come back and stay on Earth permanently. What am I going to do! I hate this so much. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? Will this ever stop?

Clark entered his home after he parked the truck and found his parents sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper.

"Hi." he said quietly.

"Clark, honey what's wrong? Is everything alright?" Martha Kent asked, concerned as she looked over at her husband.

"It's a long story." Was all he could say, but he told them anyway. How Max was just like him, and what they wanted Clark to do.

"We were hoping this day would never come." Jonathan managed to say standing up from his chair.

"I don't want to leave you guys. Ever." Clark said.

"Son, I know this is hard, but you heard what Max said, they'll do anything to get you back. I don't think we really have a choice in this matter." His father said, not liking the idea of Clark leaving either.

They finished the conversation with "We'll sleep on it." and Clark made his way slowly up to his room.

******

__

Tuesday

Dawn approached, and Clark had no sleep. He couldn't sleep all night. I mean who could? _I just found out people from my real planet have found me and want me back. They are willing to even hurt my family and friends._

"Kal-El." Clark heard an unfamiliar voice as he opened his eyes. It was a man he'd never seen before, with a "S" on his chest. He looked as if he was projected and not actually in the room.

"Who are you?" Clark asked, leaning up from his bed.

"I am your father. You must have lots of questions to ask, I understand that, but it is imperative that you listen to me. We sent you to planet Earth twelve years ago. Our planet was ready to explode and your mother and I felt it was best to send you here. We knew people from our planet would survive and start again, and that they would look for you sooner or later to bring you home. We must have all the Generals we can get to ensure the safety of our planet. Without you and many others, our enemies will gain control and chaos will become of the New Krypton. You have a destiny Kal-El, and your mother and I wish we could've been there to see you grow up, to see the man you have become. Please. Help our planet, before it is too late. I love you son." And the screen disappeared. Tears started forming in Clark's eyes and he didn't know what to say.


	5. Chapter 5

Clark stood at the edge of the cornfield, watching the world pass him by. It was early evening, and as he stared at the stars above he wondered just what life had in store for him. It had been two days since he had made the discovery, and from that moment on his life had been irrevocably changed. For the better, or for worse was the question that preyed on his mind. He would never have imagined things would turn out the way they had, but he knew now it would be a turning point in his life. He softly sighed, his mind wandering back to the events that had already transpired…

Fifteen minutes passed and he was brought back into reality. He made his decision shortly after the vision of his father. He would return to New Krypton for a short period of time, make sure things are in order and stay that way, then return to Earth to be with his family and friends. He brought his friends and his parents together in their living room and told them of his decision, causing Lana, Chloe, and Martha to start crying, and Pete and Jonathon had a sign of tears in their eyes. Lex was also in the room, Clark felt he couldn't hide his secret from Lex anymore either. 

"I'm going to miss you guys." Clark said to his parents, he was now in tears. They gave each other a big, long hug, all three not wanting to let go.

"We've loved you since the day we found you Clark." His father managed to say.

"Come back to us now, you hear?" Martha said, trying to stay calm, but couldn't hold back the tears that filled her eyes.

"Pete, you're my best friend. I'm gonna miss you so much." He said to Pete, giving him a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you too man." Pete said, returning the hug. Clark moved over to Lex now.

"Lex. I'm glad we got to know each other this year. I'll miss you too." Clark said, giving Lex a hug goodbye, Lex looked as if he could cry too, but managed to stay calm. Clark moved over to Chloe now.

"You better be ready for an interview for when you return Clark." She attempted to say as a joke, but she was mostly crying.

"I love you Chloe, my best friend, I'll miss you." They hugged for a while, and he then moved to Lana. 

"Lana. I really am going to miss you." He said, attempting to hide his tears.

"I'm gonna miss you too Clark Kent. I'm glad we got to be the good friends that we are now. But hey, look at the bright side, I'll see you in a few months." She gave him a long hug and retreated back next to Chloe, grabbing her arm as Chloe handed her a Kleenex. 

"It's time Clark." Max said entering the living room, getting a long stare from Clark's family.

Everyone followed Max and Clark outside in front of the house, where a ship could be seen coming through the sky and landing a short ways in front of them. The giant ship landed, and doors immediately opened, revealing a short walkway up into the ship. Max quickly entered the ship, leaving Clark. Clark turned to look at the people he loved, gave them a short wave, and began his walk into the ship, tears flowing down his eyes. _I love you guys._ He entered the ship and the doors closed, and as soon as the doors closed, the ship was rising above the ground and soared into the sky.

"Hello Kal-El, welcome." A man said, Clark assuming it was Commander L.

"Hi, I'm Clark." Clark said extending his hand. The man laughed and Clark was now confused.

"Oh, my dear boy, just like your father. That project in your room of your father. I did it. One thing Max failed to mention, mainly because I never told him, was that the enemies _did_ gain control of New Krypton. And now we're on our way to exterminating all relatives of those who banished us to a hell prison for years." Clark's eyes widened and he was about to use his speed but the man pulled out a weird looking gun and stunned him. Clark was paralyzed. 

"I want you to take a look boy, and see the fate of those you love." He said, turning Clark to face a window, and he saw Earth not too far away. It was a big blue ball. BOOM. Earth exploded and became nothing but dust and fragments.

"NO!" Clark screamed in horror. He fell to his knees, with what little strength he had and just cried. He slowly turned, and saw Max was in shock as well.

"Go ahead. Kill me. That way I can be with my family instead of here." Clark managed to say.

"Oh no, that would be too easy."

***********

"NO!" Clark shouted, awakening from the nightmare. He was back in his bed, confused as to what just happened. _Had it been a dream? It sure as hell seemed real._ He hurried down the steps and found his father sitting at the kitchen table, and his mother cooking breakfast.

"Morning sleepyhead." His father said jokingly. The sun shined brightly through the kitchen windows, causing Clark to squint his eyes a bit.

"What day is it?" Clark asked real fast, before his mother could say anything too.

"Sunday. Clark, are you feeling alright?" Jonathon asked.

"I don't know, am I supposed to meet Chloe, Lana, and Pete out in the woods later?" He asked.

"As a matter of fact, Chloe called not too long ago wanting us to remind you to be out there by 8. Which means you better get a move on, we were just about to wake you up our self." Martha said. Clark used his speed and made his way to the woods and found the three friends waiting for him.

"Finally, Clark Kent arrives." Pete said walking next to his friend.

"So why are we out here again?" Clark asked, still shaken up from the dream.

"Remember, last night we all saw something fall from the sky. We didn't know what it was, we decided to wait until morning to check it out." Chloe said, surprised at Clark's memory loss.

__

Oh god, it was a dream. If the ship **is** here, then that means everything will be coming true and I might lose them again. I have to figure out a way to stop it this time around, and I'm going to need their help.

He told his friends to follow him and he was instantly able to show them what had landed.

"How did you know that was there Clark?" Lana asked, which now caused the three of them to stare at Clark curiously..

"Okay, we don't have much time, you guys are never going to believe this, and if we don't hurry we're all going to die."

-End-


End file.
